The cooling system for commercial and retail establishments generally comprise a remotely located primary unit that is individually connected to the various cooling loads or zones therein, such as air conditioning, low temperature freezer units, and mid-temperature refrigeration units. Such arrangements in a typical supermarket refrigeration system oftentimes require hundreds or thousands of pounds of refrigerant charge in addition to thousands of feet of refrigerant lines. Additionally, plural primary units may be employed, however, each conditioned area nonetheless requires individual connection.
The problems associated with the above approaches have been further complicated by changes in the permissibility and availability of direct expansion refrigerants commonly used for such systems. Certain chlorofluorocarbons and hydro chlorofluorocarbons are being phased out because of their environmental impact. To the extent obtainable, the cost of such refrigerants are increasing markedly making the cost of the installed system considerably more expensive. Certain non-chlorinated low temperature and medium temperature refrigerants have been developed as alternatives, however, they tend to be even more costly. Other high temperature direct expansion refrigerants, such as R-134a, are more moderate in cost, but are not effective in direct expansion cooling systems below air conditioning temperatures.
The foregoing problems have prompted refrigeration equipment manufacturers to propose the use of secondary liquid cooling. Therein, a primary condensing unit is closely coupled to a direct expansion heat exchanger. The refrigerant for the primary system may be selected based on performance, and because of the shorter supply lines the cost thereof is reduced. The direct expansion heat exchanger is coupled to a secondary system using a liquid secondary refrigerant. The secondary refrigerant is pumped through individual secondary lines to the liquid chilling coils in various temperature control zones, such a refrigerated displays, walk-in coolers and the like.
One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,211 to Sherwood. Therein, a liquid secondary refrigerant is directed in a secondary cooling loop from a primary-secondary heat exchanger to a series of display cases and pumped back to the heat exchanger. Only a single zone, of the many zones typically found in commercial applications, is covered in the secondary loop. The secondary loop is not operative to provide coil defrosting.
Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,442 to Bergman et.al. wherein a secondary refrigeration loop employs an open loop air stream that directly impinges a product to be cooled. The secondary loop return air system is directed to a secondary heat exchanger interfaced with a primary refrigeration loop.
A plurality of secondary refrigeration loops using a single refrigerant are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,318,845 to Dorini et. al. and 5,138,845 to Mannion et. al. Therein, the return lines of the primary refrigeration are fed in parallel as the inlet lines to the secondary cooling loads and the secondary return lines are connected with the primary inlet lines. Control systems are provided with each cooling load to control temperature and flow rates. While providing some localization of lines, a single refrigerant charge for the cooling demands of the generally similar temperature demands of the various units of the system.
A further approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,262 to Gyger et. al. wherein second closed loop system is operative to transfer heat from a single heat sink using carbon dioxide as a secondary refrigerant.
It is apparent from the above that such secondary loop designs have not focused on the major problems associated with plural refrigerant systems, i.e. consolidation of the high cost/high performance primary refrigerant loop and a secondary loop capable of handling plural cooling zones of the type found in supermarkets, cold storage facilities, hospitals, industrial plants, hotels, shopping centers, and like locations requiring cooling, refrigeration and heating. By focusing on parallel exchanges, high fluid volume cost, high equipment costs, and power consumption for fluid transfer remain a problem.
Similar and other problems in specialized refrigerated applications such as indoor ice rink facilities. Therein, the ice rink surface, comprised of a refrigerated bed and covered by successive layers of ice, is maintained at subfreezing temperatures by a liquid secondary cooling loop, customarily utilizing glycol as the liquid refrigerant. The equipment and technology for maintaining the ice surfaces; has generally reliable service. The environment of the ice rink facility poses secondary problems, namely dehumidification, that have heretofore required costly auxiliary systems.
In operation, the ice sheet, outdoor air, participants and crowds generate high ambient humidity levels causing moisture to condense on cooler surfaces, such as ceilings, and fog to accumulate at the rink surface. This moisture can drip onto the ice sheet impairing the quality thereof. The humidity levels are also unpleasant for the rink participants and attendants.
Various approaches have been used for handling the humidity levels to insure quality ice surfaces and provide conform for the users. Currently, the preferred systems use desiccants for removing excess humidity. However such systems are costly and may not be effective during periods of extreme humidity conditions.